4SS: 04 A Witch's Diary
by Ta1u1a
Summary: 4 of 22 in the 4th Sister Series, alternate season 4. Price finds a diary in the attic that tells of the demise of Belthazor.


A Witch's Diary  
>Fourth episode in the Fourth Sister Series<p>

* * *

><p>Price rooted through the attic looking for the trunk of picture frames and other knick knacks that Piper had told her about, but not having much success. She walked across the attic, noticing a loose board as she approached the door. But she didn't give it much thought while she yelled back down to Piper.<p>

"Hey, are you sure that trunk is up here?" she hollered.

"Pretty sure," Piper yelled back. Price rolled her eyes and crossed back through the attic. She stepped on the loose board again and this time it flew upward, much like a rake would in a cartoon, and it smacked her in the back of the head. She fell forward to the floor, her left foot jammed in the gap between the loose board and the rest of the floor. She knelt on the floor, leaning on her left elbow while she massaged the back of her head with her right hand.

"That smarts," she muttered to herself as she turned to look at the board. She unlodged her foot and then carefully pressed the end of the board down with her hand. When the far end was raised enough, she slid the board a little to find a hollow area in the floor. In that area she could make out an old, dusty, leather-bound journal. She pulled it out, wary of what critters could be residing in the hole. She wiped the dust and cobwebs off, being sure to replace the board before she went over to the day bed to inspect her finding.

It was nothing extremely special. The front had a Celtic knot design similar to the triquetra yet different. A red ribbon stuck out from between two pages near the center of the journal. Price removed the strap that held the book closed and then opened to the page marked by the ribbon. It was dated April 18, 1906. If Price remembered her history correctly she knew that to be the date of one of the most devestating quakes in the city's history. She began to read the journal, knowing that she was invading no one's privacy because the owner was surely dead by now.

_The small shocks have continued all day and the Great Fire is raging on throughout the city. I am just thankful that our home, or rather what is left of our home, is nowhere near that area of the city. I was utterly terrified when the ground shook this morning. Thankfully, I had fallen asleep on the sofa downstairs after making my last entry, and father thought best to leave me where I lay. When it all started he had just risen out of bed to begin drawing water for a bath. He scooped me up and took me outside. He ran so fast, even with the ground shaking beneath his feet. He managed to get us to an open field, and there we remained until the shaking ceased. My eyes were closed the entire time and when I opened them I realized that we were in a recessed area. The area around us had dropped several feet due to the tremors. Father had to lift me above his shoulders before we could get out. When we returned home to see the damage, we found that the entire house was collapsed. I was only so lucky to find my journal among the wreckage of our home. Father says we will rebuild, that he does not have the means to quit his job so that we can travel to a different part of the country. I asked him if I should use my power of premonition in order to see if that is truly what we should do, but he told me no. Ever since mother died he has forbidden me to partake in witchcraft. I only do so when he is unaware. I have friends, my coven, that I sneak away with after school lets out. However, I do not even know if they are still alive. Helena lives near the area that has been swept by the Great Fire, and there is no telling what could have happened to Emmaleen. I believe the center of the earthquake was quite near her home. I do fear for their safety, and I pray that my friends are well. May their powers protect them._

Price closed the journal and sighed. The last few sentences of the entry proved that the writer was a part of their family. She turned further forward in the journal to see earlier entries, hoping to get an idea of who the writer was and how old she was. She stopped on August 17, 1905.

_We laid mother to rest today. Father ordered me to destroy the Book of Shadows, but how could I possibly bring myself to do so? He fears our witchcraft. He has never understood it. He only accepted it for mother's sake. I cannot destroy the Book. For I know Melinda's prophecy will come true. The Charmed Ones will exist. I have seen the future. I touched the Book and I saw them. What strange clothing they were wearing. Women wearing trousers? How odd! They were vanquishing a demon, a great demon known as Belthazor. He has already rained chaos upon witches and innocents in the short existence he has had so far. Now I know that his evil shall continue on for some time. That is why I must not destroy the Book, for it must be preserved in order for the Charmed Ones to destroy that great evil known as Belthazor._

Price closed the journal again. She realized that this woman had seen an event that was still to come. How could she tell Phoebe that they were going to vanquish Belthazor? Surely it couldn't be right. Cole was good. The writer of the journal had to be mistaken. She turned to a page dated August 21, 1905.

_I have seen it again. Never in my 14 years of life has a premonition returned to my mind in such a manner. I saw the Charmed Ones yet again, and yet again they were vanquishing Belthazor. There must be something of this premonition that I must affect. Yet, how could I do anything to serve a purpose so far into the future? Shall I travel there? Perhaps a spell could send me. But father will never allow such a thing. He has denounced witchcraft. He refuses to accept its existence anymore. If he had the ability to strip me of my powers, I am sure that he would. I know he cannot stop me, but I have never defied father. There is nothing I can do._

Price continued reading the entries all the way up to the page regarding the Quake of 1906, but none of the entries gave any more information relevant to the premonition earlier mentioned. So, Price continued reading past the earthquake entry. The author's friends were indeed killed. One of them had been crushed by a wall and the other had been killed in the fire. Price's heart went out to the poor girl as she conveyed her emotions on the page. Then there was a gap. No entries covered any time between 1906 and 1920.

_November 13, 1920: Women have received the right to vote, prohibition is on the rise and my cousins want to open a speak easy in father's house. I am wary to allow this, but I am sore for funds. My photography business is not going as well as I had ventured, and a business such as a speak easy within the Manor may improve this state of debt that I am in. Philecia's husband plays the piano and their eldest plays the bass so they could serve as musicians while one of Petula's man friends tends bar. I believe his name is Jake. I do worry about Petula though. She has been spending more time with a fellow named Anton. I do not trust him. I fear that there may be evil there. In fact, I can sense it. I am simply thankful that I received an active power today. I can throw ice. It will be helpful if Anton truly is evil as I suspect._

Price found all of this extremely interesting, but there were still no entries regarding Belthazor. She read on to find that the man named Anton that the author had mentioned had in fact been evil, and the cousins had been forced to kill Petula because Anton had turned her against them. She was about to continue reading when she heard someone coming up the attic stairs. Price put the journal back in the floor and quickly slid the board back into place. Piper poked her head into the attic.

"Hey, dinner's going to be ready soon. Did you find that trunk?" she asked.

"Uh, no. No I didn't," Price said, trying not to convey that she was hiding something.

"Well, maybe you can get Phoebe to help you look after dinner," Piper commented. "I have to get to the club and make sure things go smoothly."

"Sure," Price commented. Piper headed back downstairs, and Price moved the board back again. She pulled the journal out and then replaced the board, intent on finding out what the premonition about Belthazor had truly meant.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Price," Phoebe said, poking her head into Price's room. "Piper mentioned you needed me to help you find something."<p>

"Uh, no, that's all right," Price said. She had managed to hide the journal from Phoebe's sight. "It's not important."

"Okay, I'm going to meet Cole," Phoebe said.

"All right," Price said. "Bye."

"Bye," Phoebe said. She walked down the stairs of the Manor, thinking about how whenever she had left the house before Prue died. She would say "I love you" to whichever sister was in the house. She wasn't there with Price yet. She wasn't sure if she ever would be. She was really trying to accept and trust Price as her sister, but she was still just another witch in the Power of Three to Phoebe. No more, no less. Phoebe grabbed her coat and left the Manor.

Upstairs in her room, Price continued reading the journal of the woman whose name she had finally discovered. Petra Baxter was the cousin of Philecia Johnson and Petula Russell. Petula was the one who had turned evil under the guidance of Anton, thus leading to her own demise by the hand of her cousins. Petra ended up not marrying and she died in 1970. The family line continued through Philecia who had married a man named Gordon Johnson. They then had Penelope Johnson, the woman affectionately known as Grams to Piper and Phoebe, as Price had noticed. Price opened the journal and read on through the entries.

_May 1, 1970: I am not well. I feel that my end shall come soon, and my health is not at all improved by the recurrence of the premonition that I have not had for over 50 years. I had yet again the premonition of the Charmed Ones vanquishing Belthazor. I hugged my cousin's granddaughter, Patricia, and I saw it. They were in the attic of the Manor. This I know now. I had not recognized it the first few times I had this premonition because the remodeling had not taken place yet. But this I am almost certain. Patricia shall bear the Charmed Ones. I can sense it in her. That great power is just waiting to be delivered. It may be a few years yet, but I can forsee this future. And then when the girls are grown they shall defeat Belthazor once and for all._

Price closed the journal and shook her head. There had to be something they could do about this. She didn't want to be the one to tell Phoebe that they had to kill her boyfriend. She needed help. Should she ask Piper? She wasn't sure about that. She knew a whitelighter was like a lawyer or a psychiatrist. "Clients" had confidentiality rights. Leo was her best choice.

"Leo! Hey Leo, you busy?" she called into the air, waiting for the familiar bluish-white light. Moments later he orbed into her room.

"What's up?" he asked, not quite used to guiding Price yet. Like Piper and Phoebe it was difficult for him to adjust from Prue to Price. Although, not quite as difficult. Price was different from Prue, Piper and Phoebe. She treated Leo more like a whitelighter than a brother or husband. She saw their relationship as professional.

"Okay, before I say anything, I just wanna make sure this is strictly between us…the whole confidentiality rule," Price said. "Because I know you talk to Piper a lot. I mean, she's your wife after all, and I just don't want you to think you can tell her this stuff because she's family and stuff."

"Of course, strictly between us," Leo said. "What's on your mind?"

"Well, uh, I kinda found this journal in the attic. It was shoved under a loose floorboard. It's the journal of a woman in our ancestry. Her name is…was Petra Baxter. She was the cousin of our great-grandmother," Price explained. "She was like this photographer and stuff, and she ran a speak easy with her cousins in the Manor until she and our great-grandmother had to kill their other cousin."

"Yeah," Leo said, remembering all too well the past-life curse that had been placed on Phoebe. "Actually, Petra was Prue's past-self. And I believe your great-grandmother was Piper's past-self."

"Wait, then that means that Phoebe was…Petula," Price said. "Oh, wow."

"Don't worry," Leo said. "They already dealt with all the evil that Phoebe did in her past-life. So, it really is that…the past. But I don't understand why you need my help with all this."

"Well, see Petra had the power to throw ice and the power of premonition, and she had a recurring premonition, one that affects the Power of Three," Price explained.

"How?"

"The premonition was of me, Piper and Phoebe vanquishing Belthazor," Price said, dropping the bomb.

"Are you sure?" Leo asked immediately. He had accepted the belief that Cole had control over his demon half, partly because Cole had saved his life. But he knew as long as that demon half existed, there was the dangerous possibility that he would try to kill the sisters again.

"It's what she wrote. She wrote that she saw the Charmed Ones vanquishing Belthazor," Price said. "Trust me, the last thing I want to do is tell Phoebe that we have to vanquish her boyfriend. But we can't just ignore this. This woman would have no reason to lie in a journal that she probably didn't think anyone would ever read. I'm just not sure what to do."

"Well, unless Cole does in fact lose control you won't get Phoebe's cooperation," Leo said. "And even then…"

"So, I just sit on this? Let it go until he attacks us? What if he does attack and we're not ready?" Price asked the questions in one long string. "I'm not going to be unprepared. We could wait and then he could kill us."

"That's a possiblity, I agree, but you do have the connection," Leo said. "One thing, one disadvantage that Cole would have now is that Phoebe would know if he changed. A normal demon wouldn't be that easy to track, but Phoebe would know if it happened with Cole. You three have the empathic connection so you and Piper would know the instant that Phoebe sensed a change in Cole."

"That's still a big risk," Price said. She started pacing back and forth at the foot of her bed. "I don't want to tell Phoebe about this, but I feel like I have to, if only to prevent any of us from getting hurt."

Leo sighed and thought about it for a moment. Price was right. They couldn't just sit on this. At the very least, they needed to see if they could find any more about Petra and her premonition. "How much of that journal have you read?"

"Most of it," Price said. "She started it when her mom died and I'm up to the last few entries."

"So, you've pretty much gotten all the information out of it that you're going to get," Leo said. He thought some more. Then he looked up. "Tell Piper. She'll know better than either of us how to approach Phoebe about this. If anything maybe Phoebe can call a premonition—hopefully the same premonition that Petra had—from the journal. It's just a matter of getting her to listen long enough to get her to try that."

"Okay, I guess I'll go to the club," Price said. She looked at her watch. It was about an hour till closing. "Care to join me?"

"Might as well," he said. "She'll probably call me after you tell her anyway."

The two of them headed out the door and Price drove to P3.

* * *

><p>Phoebe rested in Cole's arms in the makeshift bed he had in the mausoleum. It was actually comfortable considering they were lying on multiple blankets spread out on a concrete floor. Still, Phoebe wished that Cole could have a real place to live. Somehow, that would change, even if he had to move into the Manor. The other option Phoebe had thought of was moving out of the Manor and getting a place with Cole. Of course, she and Prue had pitched a fit when Piper had suggested she and Leo move out, and they were married. How could she suggest to Piper now that she wanted to move out with Cole? Especially when they were trying to make the connection with Price as a sister and a fellow protector of the innocent.<p>

She looked at Cole and just wondered what the future held for them. She wondered if she should make the potion to strip his demon half. She wondered if it would even work anymore. But she knew that she and Cole couldn't live in hiding. The Source was constantly sending zotars after him, and her status as one of the Charmed Ones who just recently escaped from the Source's grasp wouldn't help his safety either. She had to try the potion again. She resolved to do just that as soon as she got home.

* * *

><p>Price and Leo waited at the bar staring at their unfinished beers while Piper worked with her staff to get the club closed as quickly as possible. She knew they were there on 'business' so she cut a few corners on closing and vowed to take care of it before opening the next night. Of course, she wasn't sure if she would have time for that. Finally, the last of the staff was gone and the club looked better than Piper had expected. She turned to Price and Leo.<p>

"Okay, you two wanted to wait till after closing. So, I'm guessing this is more serious than usual," Piper commented. "What's the big?"

"Uh, well…" Price began. She glanced over at Leo, who nodded his head. "This afternoon when I was looking around in the attic for that trunk I stepped on a loose board and found a journal under it. It belonged to one of our ancestors. She was our great-grandmother's cousin."

"Prue's past-self," Leo intervened. That got Piper's attention.

"She had the power of premonition and the power to throw ice," Price continued. "And in the journal she described a recurring premonition that she had. The premonition was of the Charmed Ones—us—vanquishing Belthazor."

Piper didn't show any reaction. Price and Leo tried to read her, but she was stone-faced. It was a rare thing for Piper to react to such news in such a way. They waited for her response.

"She wrote that it was us? I mean, including you, Price?"

"It had to be me," Price responded. "I mean, Belthazor's still alive. She wrote that it was us vanquishing him."

"I'm guessing Phoebe doesn't know about this," Piper said.

"Uh, well, you might be better to approach her about it," Price said. "She doesn't really trust me yet."

"Wait a minute," Piper interrupted. "Why do you say that?"

"Because it's the truth," Price replied. "I'm not upset about it. It's to be expected. Phoebe and I really haven't had a whole lot of bonding time. She's been trying to set things right with Cole, and I just feel like she thinks I'm intruding."

"She doesn't think that," Piper said.

"Oh really? Then why's she always uncomfortable around me?" Price asked. "But look, we're getting off the subject. I understand it. Let's get back on track here."

Leo decided to cut in and help get back to the matter at hand. "We were thinking Phoebe could touch the journal and try to call the premonition that Petra had of the three of you vanquishing Belthazor."

"So, I've been nominated as the bearer of bad news," Piper commented dryly. "All right, let's go home and then I'll call her cell phone."

* * *

><p>Phoebe tried to sneak out without waking Cole, but she had barely gotten dressed before she noticed him watching her.<p>

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you. It's just that Piper called and there's a supernatural thing," she explained.

"It's all right," he said with a smile. "So, when will I see you again?"

"That depends on the Source," Phoebe replied as she knelt to kiss him. "You know where to find me."

"And you know where to find me," he said. She smiled, kissed him once more and then left the mausoleum.

Cole laid back on the blankets and sighed. He wondered how things would work with them now. He wasn't sure if the power stripping potion would work on him anymore. He had visited the alchemist and he had been given immunity to the vanquishing potion. He wasn't sure how far the immunity went. All he knew was that he couldn't keep running forever.

* * *

><p>"All right, so I know evil exists 24-7, but I wish we could do this during the day," Phoebe commented as she joined Price, Piper and Leo in the parlor. "What's up?"<p>

Piper and Price exchanged glances, and Price began. "I found a journal up in the attic. It belonged to one of our ancestors. Her name was Petra Baxter. Leo says she was Prue's past-self or something. But anyway, one of her powers was to have premonitions."

"Okay," Phoebe said, not sure where they were going with this, and why they had to call her at 3 in the morning about it. Piper then took over with the explanation.

"Petra had a recurring premonition. She had it when she was fourteen twice and then a third time when she was 89 after she hugged mom," Piper explained. Phoebe waited patiently. "The premonition was of the three of us vanquishing Belthazor."

Phoebe's face first registered shock, and then she glared at Price. "You think he's going to turn on us. Don't you?"

"I don't know what to think," Price said. "All I know is that he's got demon in him. That's really all that concerns me."

"So you just come in here and pass judgement after reading a few sentences in a journal? What gives you the right?"

"Basic fact gives me the right," Price said, angered by Phoebe's reaction. "Your boyfriend is Belthazor. That's something we all know. I'm just trying to have a little perspective here."

"Perspective. Right, because you know him so well. You've been here for what…a month? You don't know anything."

"All right, both of you knock it off," Piper said sharply. They looked at her, and Phoebe saw the frustration in her eyes. She felt the frustration through their empathic connection. She also felt suspicion and fear.

"Do you think he's going to turn?" Phoebe asked accusingly. Piper said nothing. "You do. After all that's happened, how could you think that?"

"Look, Phoebe, I've kept up with the program. Cole saved your life, Leo's life and mine. And for that I'm grateful, but I'm not stupid," Piper said quickly. "Price is right. As long as Belthazor exists in Cole, he is a threat. You saw what happened to Janna. Cole might want to be good, but somebody else like Raynor could put another spell on him and then what? We die? I'll be damned if I'm going to let that happen. I will kill Cole myself before I let him hurt you, Price or anyone else."

Phoebe just blinked in shock. She had never seen Piper react like that. They had had arguments before and she had been sharp and angry, but the arguments were always petty. Piper was changing. Phoebe could tell. She could feel the confidence and feelings of obligation rising in her, trailed by self-doubt. Piper was forcing it all, because she felt she had to.

While everyone was silent, Leo decided he should step in. "Look, Phoebe, all we're asking you to do is try to call the premonition from the journal. Nobody has given up on Cole yet."

Phoebe looked over at Leo and thought about it for a moment. Then she looked at Price, "Where's the journal?"

"In my room," Price replied quietly. "I'll go get it."

As Price turned to head upstairs, Leo got a call from his bosses. Piper just rolled her eyes and kissed him before he orbed out. She and Phoebe stared at each other for a moment and then Piper went to the kitchen without a word. Phoebe followed close behind and watched Piper put on the kettle for tea, their fuel for the late night sessions when the tensions got too high for coffee. Piper stood on one side of the island while Phoebe stood on the other, neither of them sure where to begin.

"Phoebe, I'm sorry," Piper began, but Phoebe interrupted her.

"No, don't be sorry. I'm the one who should be sorry. I got defensive and jumped to conclusions. You had every right to be angry," Phoebe said.

"I wasn't angry. It's just…" Piper trailed off, choosing her words carefully. "I've always been protective of you, Pheebs. It's just that Prue was my buffer in case I ever missed one of your mistakes. She was my safety net. Now I'm the oldest and there's no safety net."

Phoebe leaned on the counter and grasped Piper's left hand in hers. "Prue spent her whole life being our safety net, and look what happened to her. Where was her safety net?" Piper looked down at the counter, seemingly concentrating on one tile near her right thumb. "I'm not saying that I think you're incapable of protecting me or that I don't want you to, but you're not Prue."

"I just wonder what I'm supposed to do sometimes," Piper said quietly.

"Do what you've always done. Follow your instincts and your heart, not your brain," Phoebe said with a smirk. "Thinking too much can lead to trouble…and headaches."

Piper laughed and squeezed Phoebe's hand. "As much as you try to deny it, you're turning into middle sister material."

"No, not until you threaten to blow up Price," Phoebe joked. Then, with perfect timing, Price entered the kitchen.

"Who's blowing me up?" she asked.

"Nobody," Phoebe said with a small grin. Price set the journal on the counter in front of Phoebe and she just looked at it. Then she looked up at her twin sister. "Um, before we do anything else, Price, I just want to apologize for how I reacted. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. You did nothing wrong."

Price just nodded her head and Phoebe picked up the journal. Her mind's eye brought forth the images that they had hoped she would see. They were in the attic standing by the Book of Shadows. Belthazor was on the opposite end of the attic. He tried to throw an energy ball, but the sisters had thrown a potion on him to paralyze him. He growled with rage as they said a spell, and he disappeared in a burst of red sparks and electricity. Before the vision departed, Phoebe noticed something. There was someone lying on the floor near Belthazor. A man. Leo? She couldn't be sure.

She opened her eyes to see two sets of eyes staring expectantly at her. She sighed and looked down at the journal. "Petra told the truth. We are going to vanquish Belthazor."

* * *

><p>Piper had fallen asleep on the day bed in the attic. Phoebe was closely examining the journal, trying to find some small clue as to what they could do to save Cole and vanquish Belthazor. Price had Book of Shadows duty.<p>

"I have to warn Cole," Phoebe said suddenly. She stood to leave, but Price stopped her.

"Woah, hang on a second," she said. "I don't think it's a good idea to warn a demon that you're going to kill him."

"Cole's…"

"…Not a demon. Yeah, you keep saying that. But he is half-demon. That's close enough."

"Well, that's just a fact of his life," Phoebe said sharply. "There's no getting away from it."

Price looked down at the Book, staring at the instructions for making a potion. "Or maybe there is." Phoebe was slightly confused. "This is your handwriting. Why haven't you used this potion yet?"

Phoebe looked at the page and saw that it was the potion to strip Cole of his powers. "We were going to, but things changed."

"You know, I think I can see how that premonition is going to happen. Wake Piper up."

"I'm up," Piper said as she approached the two younger Halliwells. "Do we have a lead?"

"Price seems to think the power stripping potion is a solution," Phoebe said, still skeptical.

"No see, you think it's a power stripping potion, but if you look at two major ingredients," Price said as she pointed to the list. "It's not a power stripping potion. It's a separation potion. Oil and water are major ingredients yet they don't mix."

"I'm not following," Piper said. Phoebe seemed to be thinking it over intensely.

"This potion is meant to separate Cole's human and demon halves, like separating Siamese twins that are joined at the hip."

"That's how the premonition can happen," Phoebe said quietly.

"So, we get Cole over here to drink the potion and then we kick Belthazor's ass," Price said.

"Not that simple," Piper said. "While Cole was still under Raynor's spell he had an alchemist help build immunity to our vanquishing potion. We'll have to find another way to do it."

"In the premonition, Belthazor was paralyzed," Phoebe said. "He tried to throw an energy ball at us, but he couldn't. Maybe we just need to double the potency of the vanquishing potion."

"Okay, so duties for everyone," Piper said. "Price you find the potion to paralyze a demon. Pheebs, you get Cole and start the separation potion. I'll tweak the vanquishing potion," she directed quickly.

Price raised her right hand in a salute and said, "Aye, aye Captain!" Phoebe couldn't help but laugh a little. Piper tried to give Price a disapproving glare but she couldn't hold it for long. She smiled and shook her head. Then the three of them went about their duties as Piper had assigned.

* * *

><p>"So you're going to separate me from Belthazor?" Cole asked. He honestly hadn't expected to see Phoebe so soon, and her news was even more surprising than her presence.<p>

"Yeah, it's like separating Siamese twins," she replied.

"You do realize that he'll be pure demon," Cole said. "Any weaknesses that Belthazor would have with me around would be gone. He'd be stronger than the demon you've fought before."

Phoebe thought about this and pulled out her cell phone. Piper answered on the other end and Phoebe made quick directions. "Hey, it's me. Tell Price to double the potency of the paralysis potion and you triple the vanquishing potion. Okay. Bye."

Cole smiled at Phoebe, revelling in her decisiveness. He reached forward and kissed her and then the two of them left the mausoleum.

* * *

><p>At the Manor, Price and Piper had just finished with their potions and they were all waiting in the attic while the separation potion cooled.<p>

"I'm feeling a little déjà vu here," Cole said, thinking of the first time they had attempted this.

"Well, things are going to end differently this time," Phoebe said. "Raynor's dead."

Price noticed that the potion had turned blood red, as it was supposed to. "Potion's ready."

They all looked up and then stood. Cole picked up the glass while the sisters backed away a little. He made eye contact with Phoebe for a moment and then he drank the potion quickly. At first he seemed normal, like it hadn't worked. But then he doubled over and cried out in pain. Piper grabbed Phoebe's arm when she started to move toward Cole instinctively. Moments later the cries of pain turned into growls as Belthazor appeared and Cole collapsed.

"I think we've just found the answer to the question of whether or not Clark Kent and Superman can be in the same room at the same time," Price joked as Belthazor stood tall before them.

"Now Price!" Piper said. Price smashed a small bottle at Belthazor's feet just before he was about to throw an energy ball. His powers were paralyzed. Then all three of them hurled small bottles of the vanquishing potion at Belthazor's feet. Red smoke started to rise from his feet and then they all got to see Petra's premonition as Belthazor disappeared in red sparks.

They were all stunned speechless, especially Piper and Phoebe. After all they had been through the previous year because of Belthazor, he was gone. And Cole remained.

Phoebe knelt next to Cole and he looked up at her. "Is he gone?" he asked with the innocence of a child.

"Yes, he's gone," Phoebe answered.

"I'm free," Cole said, apparently more surprised than anyone that the plan had actually worked. "I'm free."

* * *

><p>"I have lost track of Belthazor," a zotar named Krishna reported to the Source.<p>

"How? Even in human form he is detectable," the Source asked.

"I'm not sure my lord," Krishna replied.

"Find him then," the Source ordered. "If you cannot pick up his trail then that means he has been vanquished. The only ones who can do that are the Charmed Ones. Either way, the next time I see you, I want the head of Belthazor or the heads of the witches. If you don't deliver, I will have your head."

THE END


End file.
